Jaime D'Antona, Prospect?

by b1leper on May 27, 2008 1:48 PM EDT

I recently picked up a great book about the summer Cape Cod league called The Last Great League. I'm sure many of you have read it. If not, I highly recommend it.

One of the main players in the book is Jamie D'Antona, then a soph at Wake Forest. He was depicted as an ultra-talented free spirit who lived to hit baseballs. While reading the book, it occurred to me that I had heard of D'Antona in the D-Backs organization, but didn't know how he had faired recently.

After finishing the book last night, I did a google search on D'Antona and was blown away at the season he has had so far in Tucson. For much of the spring he has led all leagues in batting and has posted these "video game" numbers: .408/.433/.639.

D'Antona struggled early in his career and is thought of as a subpar fielder (as described in the book) however, last year he hit .308/.362/.499 in his first year in AAA. Are we seeing a continued break out, and at age 26 should Jamie D'Antona be considered a prospect?

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My guess...

is that he would be a C prospect, maybe a C+, but I doubt it. I don’t think he will ever be a major league regular, but he can be nice to have in your organization for depth purposes. I wouldn’t be surprised if he tasted the majors this year. I think he will be your typical AAAA player though. Do well in AAA, but struggle a bit in the majors (slightly below replacement level). Likely one of the first players called up anytime there is an injury at the major league level and the club doesn’t want to use a prized prospect. It would probably serve him well to learn as many defensive positions as possible to help him stay on a major league roster. If you can’t be great, at least be versatile.

"My mom always taught me it's better to laugh at yourself than to laugh at others. She was so wrong. ;)" -Pedrophile

by Boxkutter on May 27, 2008 2:11 PM EDT reply actions

I think he makes the bigs as a bench guy.

In addition to playing both corners, he can at least sort-of catch, which helps. I was surprised he didn’t go in the Rule 5 last year.

by Vlad on May 28, 2008 11:32 AM EDT reply actions

Agree...

With the comments above in that D’Antona seems to have made himself a valuable player through his versatility. He probably won’t be an all-star but a solid player none the less.

And, I agree, the book The Last Best League is a good read. I have tried to keep an eye on D’Antona, Stauffer and Pauley ever since reading the book hoping that one would pan out and become a star. They seemed like good kids from reading the book. It was a great depiction of the Cape League.

by Rhody Royals on May 28, 2008 4:24 PM EDT reply actions